Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a deceleration apparatus and method, and more particularly to a deceleration apparatus and method for stopping a racing vehicle a predetermined distance beyond a race course finish line after a speed run from a standing start.
So-called drag racing of vehicles from a standing start has been a popular sport for many years. A parachute is normally used to decelerate and stop the vehicle after it crosses the finish line but the distance traveled by the vehicle beyond the finish line is still relatively great because of the time required to deploy and fill the chute. This circumstance and the high noise level experienced during drag competition limit practice of the sport to a few drag strips located in sparsely populated locations far from urban centers. The number of such strips is further limited because they are usually dedicated solely to drag racing, and that is often not economically viable.
There has been a recent trend toward bringing off-road racing events into walled, multi-use sports stadiums. Dirt is trucked in to convert the earthen floor of the stadium from a baseball or football field into a race course simulating the rough terrain of traditional off-road racing events. It is now common for various classes of four wheel vehicles and motorcycles to compete in sports stadiums for racing fans who would not ordinarily be able to view off-road events like those run in Baja Calif. or in the desert. The confines of the stadium are adequate to lay out a tight race course, and the noise of the events is muted by the stadium walls. Moreover, the stadium can quickly be returned to its original state for baseball or football use by trucking out the dirt and laying down sod or artificial turf.
Racing promoters would also like to bring the excitement of drag racing into stadiums along with the off-road racing events just described. However, insofar as applicant is aware, this has not yet been done because no practical means exists to safely decelerate a four wheeled vehicle or motorcycle type of dragster within the limited distance available in a stadium. If straw bales, piled tires or resilient barriers were to be used, the likelihood is that the driver would be injured by too rapid deceleration or the vehicle would rebound in an unpredictable, uncontrolled manner. Although parachutes could be employed in the same manner as in traditional outdoor drag racing, the distance needed to bring the dragster to a controlled stop once the chute is deployed and filled is still prohibitively great in most stadiums.
The technology of arresting fast landing aircraft is well known, but use of this technique in drag racing would require use of an arresting hook on the racing vehicle, and any accidental failure of the hook to engage the arresting cable adjacent the finish line would be disastrous. The typical arresting cable is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,172,625 (D. B. Doolittle) as extending across the runway in the path of the landing aircraft, and slowed by a pair of energy absorber units on opposite sides of the runway.
Another possible device for slowing a dragster might be an arresting spade mounted on the vehicle. The spade could be arranged to dig into the earthen surface beyond the finish line, much like a toboggan is slowed by a plow digging into ice or snow at the end of a run, or it could be arranged to scoop water from a trough in the manner some roller coasters are slowed after a ride. However, neither arrangement would provide a controlled stop and both would require expensive and elaborate preparation and modification of the stadium floor such that the floor could not easily be returned to its original state for use in other sporting events.
Another technology of interest is that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,309,044 (Strance et al) for arresting a missile at some point along its vertical flight path. One way cable grip devices are attached to opposite sides of the missile and engage cables which extend from an overhead boom downwardly on opposite sides of the missile to define the flight path. The cable grips permit free upward movement of the missile but prevent downward movement once the missile is stopped. A system of bridles and associated cables are attached to the missile and are payed out at a preprogrammed rate to slow and stop the missile, in suspended relation beneath the boom. The use of any such cable grip devices or cables at opposite sides of a drag racing course would be impractical for slowing a dragster because of the complexity of the arrangement and the time and effort required to precisely orient the side guide cables relative to the race course.